Starring Judi Dench as Iris Murdoch and Jim Broadbent as her husband, this Richard Eyre film is regarded as one of the best well-acted and finest films of 2001. Besides Dench and Broadbent, Kate Winslet and Hugh Bonneville star as the younger Iris Murdoch and John Bayley.

Based on the life of revered British writer and philosopher Iris Murdoch, Iris is a story of unlikely yet enduring love. As a young academic, teaching philosophy at Oxford, Murdoch (Kate Winslet/Judi Dench) meets and eventually falls in love with fellow professor John Bayley (Hugh Bonneville/Jim Broadbent), a man whose awkwardness seems in stark opposition to the spirited self-confidence of his future wife. The story unfolds as snippets of time, seen through Bayley's eyes, a journey from their student days till her battle with Alzheimer's disease. He recalls their first encounter over 40 years ago, activities they enjoyed doing together, and Iris' charismatic and individualistic personality.

Jim Broadbent won an Oscar for Best Performance by a supporting Actor for his portrayal of John Bayley.